Page 21 of The Duke’s Spinster Bride (A Duke’s Game #2)
Chapter Twenty-One
“I am so glad you are staying for the rest of the season and that I am not going to have to drag you kicking and screaming to every ball.” Cecily sighed happily as she looped an arm through Andrea’s.
They were walking in the gardens of the Caverton London house. The sun was high in the sky and a warm breeze tickled Andrea’s skin.
Her cheeks ached from smiling, but she could not seem to stop. Has it always been so beautiful? The sky was bluer, she was sure of it, the clouds fluffier and more friendly looking.
She realised she had quite forgotten what Cecily had said, and turned to her, an apologetic look on her face. “What were you saying?”
“That I am glad you are staying for the rest of the season.” Cecily laughed at her. “Though if you are going to spend the entire time daydreaming about your husband, I may be less glad.”
“I was not daydreaming about Frederick. I was thinking about how beautiful the garden is, and wondering why I never noticed it before.” She tugged at one of her sleeves, trying to affect an air of nonchalance as she straightened and surveyed the flowers around her.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Cecily’s grin broaden and suspected that her efforts at nonchalance had fallen rather short of the mark. Her cheeks coloured faintly and she rolled her shoulders back.
“I can think of a reason and it rhymes with glove–ow!.” Cecily rubbed her arm where Andrea had flicked her, jutting her lips out in a pout. “I was just saying that there is a reason you move as though you are floating on clouds.”
“It is just… It is nice.” Andrea shook her head and gestured around her. “I did not expect this.”
I thought we would go our separate ways. She had been certain that was what Frederick had wanted, though she had to admit, she had never enjoyed being wrong quite so thoroughly.
Let them watch. The memory of his words sent fresh shivers down her spine. She bit her lip as she remembered the feel of him pulling her to him. With an effort, she forced herself to return to the present, the faint flush to her cheeks considerably darker than it had been.
Cecily rolled her eyes. “You are probably the only one. Well, maybe you and Frederick. Honestly, the two of you deserve each other. Both too blind to see what was right in front of your faces.”
Andrea arched an eyebrow at her friend, giving her a half smile. “Remind me why I invited you to join me today?”
“Because you love me. Besides, I am the one who is going to take you dress shopping.” Cecily beamed at her. “It is going to be so much fun. I have been itching to take you to the modiste for years, and now I finally get to.”
“You helped me pick out my wedding dress.” Andrea pointed out.
Cecily stopped walking and put her hands on her hips, the look such a mirror of the Dowager Duchess’s that it pulled Andrea up short.
“No, I simply bullied you into getting one made. You picked it out all by yourself, even though I was your maid of honour.” Cecily gave her a frank look, before patting Andrea’s arm and continuing, “Though I will not hold it against you too much. When I get married, I will make sure you are there to help me find the perfect dress.”
“I still do not see why I need an entirely new wardrobe. I am already married, it is not like I am trying to impress anyone.” Andrea plucked a dandelion from the ground and blew on it, watching as it the stalks floated away. And I doubt I could, even if I wanted to.
She did not say the last part aloud. It would spoil the mood. And she had no wish to do that.
“Andrea, how many ball gowns do you actually own?” Cecily crossed her arms across her chest, fixing her with a gaze so fierce Andrea almost took a step away from her. “And more to the point, how many do you actually like?”
“I like a few of them. I rather like my wedding dress, and the nice blue one we had made last season.”
“That is two dresses, hardly enough to do all the socialising my cousin has planned for the pair of you.”
“She is right, you know.” Frederick’s voice tickled her ear, making both her and Cecily jump.
She whirled to face him, the sight of his easy smile seemed to release thousands of butterflies into her stomach. “You really should not sneak up on people like that.”
“It is hardly sneaking if I am in my own garden. Besides, I like making you jump.” He laughed as she scowled at him.
The scowl did not quite manage to hide the smile from her face, nor did it do much to alleviate her urge to curl into Frederick’s side. She was grateful for the presence of Cecily. Perhaps it will make him behave.
Though from the grin on his face, Andrea was not wildly optimistic about this. And if she was entirely honest with herself, she was not sure she wanted him to behave.
Focus Andrea. You are acting like some moon-struck child. “Well I do not like it.”
“Oh, I do not think that is true. I think you enjoy it, at least a little bit.” He winked at her. “I know how you like being kept on your toes.”
Beside her, Cecily made a noise that was somewhere between a cough and a snort. She arched an eyebrow at her friend who seemed to be rather fixated on one of the magnolia blossoms near them.
“Perhaps I should take steps to keep you on your toes.” Andrea stepped towards Frederick and prodded him in his chest.
“You could certainly try.” He caught her hand in his. “But I am not sure how successful you would be.”
“The pair of you are enough to make anyone sick.” Cecily groaned. “If you could stop flirting for five seconds, we can discuss how many dresses you will need from the modiste.”
“I thought about five or six.” Frederick stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Though perhaps eight if you are going to make ones like the wedding dress.”
“Eight?” Andrea let out a strangled noise, even while Cecily nodded her approval.
“You are one of the most beautiful women in the ton, and it is high time the rest of them saw it.” Frederick turned to face her, arching his eyebrows at her.
“If they did not see it before, what makes you think they will see it now?” She had meant to sound joking, but the words came out more earnest than she had intended.
Frederick’s face softened. “The fact that I will be there to shine a spotlight on you.”
“And I will be there to make sure you look stunning when he does. After all, everyone knows I am the one with the fashion sense in the family.”
“I think I have pretty good taste.” Frederick winked at Andrea. “Just look at my Duchess?”
“You are utterly ridiculous.” Andrea rolled her eyes at him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she found herself taking a step towards him.
The smell of amber filled her nostrils, mingling with the earthy smell of the garden and the fresh scent of roses. She inhaled deeply, the mix of scents calming parts of her she had not even realised needed calming.
Frederick shook out his hair and shrugged. “That does not mean I am wrong.”
“It does not mean you have any sense of fashion either.” Cecily pointed out.
Frederick narrowed his eyes at her, gesturing to the deep purple coat he was wearing and tugging on the lapels. “Just because I like a splash of colour, does not mean I do not understand fashion. I simply do not care to restrict myself to the more sombre things espoused by Beau Brummel.”
“I rather like the colour.” Andrea added, just managing to stop herself from running her hands along the purple velvet coat.
“You see? Andrea likes it!” Frederick puffed out his chest.
“This is the problem with arguing with married couples, there are always two people against you.” Cecily threw up her hands in exasperation.
Andrea suppressed a giggle as Frederick and Cecily both frowned at each other.
“Only when you are wrong.” Frederick danced away as Cecily swatted at him, sticking his tongue out at her and making a face. “You will have to try harder to catch me, dear Cecily.”
Andrea laughed as Cecily scowled at Frederick. Her chest eased, feeling lighter than it had done in months, and she looped one arm through Frederick’s and another through Cecily’s.
“Am I going to have to treat you both like children and tell you to behave?” She looked between the pair of them.
“I was not the one misbehaving.” Frederick jerked his head towards Cecily.
Andrea watched as his cousin raised her eyebrows, a dangerous note in her voice. “Are you implying that I was? What are you doing here anyway? Do you not have more important things to do than make a nuisance of yourself?”
“But Cecily, that is his prime role! To be a nuisance.” Andrea teased, laughing at Cecily’s raised eyebrows and the shock on her face.
“You wound me, dear wife.” Frederick clutched a hand to his chest in mock pain.
Andrea rolled her eyes but could not keep the smile from creeping onto her face. Frederick grinned back before looking across Andrea at Cecily.
“If you must know, I had a few meetings cancelled and thought I might as well use the time to come and be with the pair of you. I could always join you at the modiste—who knows, I might be of assistance.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Cecily reached across Andrea and smacked Frederick with her fan. “Absolutely not. You will be nothing but a distraction and Andrea and I have far too much to do. Besides, I want you to be just as surprised as the rest of the ton when you see her.”
“I expect that under your careful supervision, I shall spend many a ball picking my jaw back up off the floor.”
“Now I know you are just being melodramatic.” Andrea ran a hand along her arm, shifting from foot to foot, but not looking away from Frederick’s gaze.
“I am not. I have no doubt that whatever you wear will be utterly breathtaking.” He reached up towards her, and tucked one of the flowers from the magnolia tree behind her ears. “Mark my words, Duchess, before the season is over I will make you believe me.”
Andrea’s chest tightened. “Is that a challenge?”
“Yes.” Frederick breathed. “You are beautiful, Andrea. And I will make you see it.”
He stepped away from them and swept into a bow. “And with that, I take my leave of you.”
As he sauntered away, Andrea could not help but think that maybe, he might be able to convince her after all. She watched as he stopped and greeted each servant, smiling and asking about their day.
“He is always looking after people.” Andrea muttered. “It is time someone looked after him.”
“Pardon?” Cecily canted her head towards her.
“Nothing. Just… I have a few things I need to tend to before the modiste.”
“If you are trying to put me off-”
“- my dear Cecily, rest assured I am not.” Andrea gave her friend a mischievous smile. “I am simply trying to surprise my husband, and to do that I need to resurrect Andrew Cowper.”
Andrea may not have had much of a sense for fashion, but she did know how to set up a bank account in a male name. Which is exactly what she would need to do, to surprise Frederick.